The Washington Post: Biden administration plan seeks elimination of transportation emissions

"The Biden administration released a road map Tuesday for eliminating carbon emissions from the transportation sector by the middle of the century, calling for more walkable communities, investments in buses and trains, and the rapid adoption of electric vehicles.

"The plan, developed by the departments of Energy, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, is the first of its kind. It pairs changes to the layout of communities to make Americans less dependent on cars and a switch from gas to batteries to meet a goal scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

“We must work together in an integrated way to confront the climate crisis,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement. “Every decision about transportation is also an opportunity to build a cleaner, healthier, more prosperous future.”

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"The next decade will be critical, experts say, as a time to lay the foundations for electric vehicles and shift to denser communities that leave residents less dependent on cars. The 88-page blueprint says the years through 2030 are a time for “turning the tide,” while leaving the biggest emissions reductions to the 2030s and 2040s.

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"To increase the pace of emissions reductions, many environmental advocates have urged state transportation agencies to limit the construction of new highways that tend to encourage driving, and instead invest money in alternative infrastructure, such as bus lanes and bike paths. An analysis by the Georgetown Climate Center concluded that if money from the infrastructure law were invested in such green projects, it could contribute a further percentage point cut to emissions over the course of the decade."

Read the full article by Ian Duncan in The Washington Post.